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Designer picks ailing 10-year-old girl to be supermodel for a day

At her second fitting, Briana Vega maintained her composure while seamstresses from designer Rene Ruiz’s Miami atelier pinned a muslin dress around her frame. The dress formed the outline for what will be a silk organza turquoise gown lined in silver tulle and cinched with a belt. Vega will be walking down the runway next year but she’s not your typical model – she’s 10-years-old and battling cancer.

“I plan on smiling, because none of the models smile,” said Vega. “Then maybe all the other models can smile.”

Vega is an animated blue-eyed fifth grader, who loves waffles and mismatching her socks. Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia just a few weeks after her tenth birthday, she was pulled out of her elementary school and began chemotherapy treatment at the Miami Children’s Hospital in February.

She went on to become an ambassador for the hospital, giving speeches at large events like the Diamond Ball in…